We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Olympia Coats-Dozier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Olympia below.

Alright, Olympia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope , or better yet, I believe that my legacy will be a mapped out success plan for the generations to follow me. I pray that O’Latte is a well known , successful business not only in Charleston, but the entire state. I want a coffee shop that gives the best vibe to all my customers. My legacy will carry through my coffee shop vision and provide unthinkable wealth to my family. The wealth shall come in different forms, not only financially but mentally, and spiritually. My legacy with O’Latte will let my family know that nothing is impossible through God.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well to start , my name is Olympia, hence where O’Latte originated from. I am a graduate of Francis Marion University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Healthcare Administration with a minor in Biology. I currently am in nursing school pursuing my RN degree and I recently got married, which sparked my entire business. Even though I am very educationally driven, I knew that I always wanted something to call my own. My husband and I were on our way back from our honeymoon and I was explaining to him that I wanted a business but I was not sure what to do. I wanted to do something I loved and had a passion for. So he said , “baby you love coffee so pursue a coffee shop”. I was like whoa now that’s huge, I was not quite thinking that large but I sat with the idea and eventually took a leap and started a mobile coffee business . Doing pop ups around the city , This past year has been amazing and I’m forever grateful for the love and support that’s been shown. Providing pastries and coffee on the go is so much fun to me. Customer service is my foundation and I love providing someone with a coffee that makes them smile!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I went into the entrepreneurial world thinking it was a one size fits all and I could just treat it like school and read a manual. I had to unlearn that very quickly. I learned that starting your own business isn’t easy. There is no straight forward manual on how to create the perfect business because everyone’s situation is different. What may work for you, may not work for the next person.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My second pop up ever I was asked to come to a open house for a rental home community. I was super excited , I just knew it was going to be an amazing event that allowed O’Latte to be seen on a bigger scale. Well , only one person showed up for their open house event. This is business. Everything does not always go as planned or how we would like for them to go. We must be resilient and push through the unplanned times and find the best in every situation. So for that day, I met one new person, and that meant that one more person knew about O’Latte. That was progress to me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: olattecoffeeco